Frances Zewe

Today is an exciting day – back to the office for the first time in months, and a Friday which is a bonus!

7.00 AM

I decide to walk to work along with Lake Burley Griffin, to get some fresh air and stretch my legs.

At the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment building I have a great view over Canberra.

8.00 AM

I arrive at my desk, log in and settle into the day, firstly checking emails. I am currently placed in the Veterinary and Export Meat Branch. My team is in Brisbane; I have been fortunate to travel to the Brisbane Regional Office to meet them in person however during my day to day work we engage remotely.  Due to daylight savings, my supervisor is on a slightly later schedule than me so there is often something waiting for me in my inbox to follow up on.

When I have time (I do today!), I read the daily media round up that arrives in my inbox each morning. It helps me to understand the context and 'bigger picture' of my work. There is often lots happening in the agriculture sector. I read the headlines which includes an article on animal welfare in livestock. I send the article to some veterinarians in my branch, in case they missed it. 

9.00 AM

My supervisor calls me on MS Teams from Brisbane for our daily morning catch up. We look at our calendars and make a plan for the day. At the end of the call we wish each other a happy Friday and agree to catch up via MS teams Monday morning. We will keep in touch over the 'chat' function throughout the day.

9.30 AM 

For a Friday treat and for a quick break I shout myself a coffee from the local coffee shop. There are not too many people around so I'm in and out quickly.

9.45 AM 

On the way back from grabbing coffee I run into a colleague in the elevator who I haven’t seen face to face for some time. We have a quick chat and arrange to catch up the following week. We have been participating in a training course on how to be an effective regulator, and we will meet up to discuss our experiences with the training.

10.00 AM 

The first meeting of the day is an exciting one: online, meeting new veterinary graduates. They are kicking off their 12-month graduate development program.

11.00 AM

I have other online meetings this morning, including 2 hour-long meetings: a branch meeting and a monthly veterinarian meeting. In my world, Friday is a day for updates, reflecting on the week and looking to the next week.

1.00 PM 

Before I know it, it's lunch time! I've been online all morning, so I decide to take my packed lunch outdoors.

2.00 PM 

After lunch, a colleague asks if I can help review a document she is working on. I'm only too happy to help!

3.00 PM

As it is Friday and I have been working later some days, my supervisor suggests leaving a bit early. This sounds like a great idea to me, so I use some flex time to leave work at 3pm (instead of my usual 4pm). I use my extra time to head to the pool with a fellow graduate for some laps. Plenty of sunshine left!